October 06, 2014

Raymond McPadden, III (a/k/a Ray-Ray and Super Ray) is my hero, and my 10-year-old cousin! Sadly he was diagnosed with Burkitt's Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma earlier this year. Burkitt’s is a very aggressive cancer, and my little cousin has been fighting an up and down battle all year. His father, Raymond McPadden, Jr., was another personal hero, but unfortunately we lost him to a heart attack, February 2013. So not only has Ray Ray have to grieve the loss of his father, but he has been fighting this horrible cancer all year. His Mother, Marybeth, had to leave employment to care for him. So my family, and other supporters have been raising money to help support my cousin. Ray Ray is from Connecticut and I am from Delaware, which means I have not been able to attend the fundraisers for him. So, I have decided to try to raise money through my artwork. This October, 50% of the profit made from sales in my Etsy Store, “Rebecca Tiano’s Arts & Gifts”, will be donated to support my cousin, Ray Ray.

October 05, 2014

Its is 20 days before my wedding, and we literally just picked our wedding song a few days ago! My fiancee and I decided a faster song was more of our personality. So, tonight was our first dance lesson. Also, we decided tonight all the lessons we paid for before the wedding should be swing (4 total lessons). We are totally going to look crazy awesome for our first dance at our wedding!

The favorite thing the internet and others like to tell brides when they are stressed about something for their wedding is,"things go wrong." I swear, I heard tons of people lecture me about it, and read articles on the internet about this. I don't want to be reminded that "things go wrong." Hearing those words make the situation feel more stressful, when I know the other person's intention was to try to make the bride feel better.

I'm realistic and know that "things will go wrong," but the nightmare of this happening is a lot worse when you do a web search, and find an amazing link to a bride and groom performing an insanely awesome swing dance. Check out this YouTube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArWWB2hcWDg This couple rocks! Seriously, I need to stop looking things up on the internet. :)

However, I will work hard on my swing moves for my first wedding dance, and if "things go wrong," hopefully I will have an awesome photograph I can laugh about after the fact. I know our first dance won't look as awesome as that video, but would definitely love silly photos.

Below is a painting I did a while back. I felt like it fit the dancing theme of this blog.

October 02, 2014

There are only 23 days until I get married! To me that sounds insane. Sounds insane, because there were tons of things I would have liked to do before I get married. One thing, I really wanted to accomplish, is to write tons of blog entries. I imagined blogging, and pretending there were a lot of people reading my entries :) Opps…..totally did not do that one. Instead, I let life’s stresses get the best of me, and made excuses not to write.

Top 3 excuses which prevented me from blogging since January 26, 2013.

1) I had Respiratory School. Yes, I went back to school and received a second degree that has nothing to do with art. Studying was intense! In fact, I still study even though I have graduated. However, it was totally worth it, and I hope to find an awarding respiratory job soon.

2) I had three relatives die.

October 31, 2012: My beloved Aunt, Rosie, died from cancer.

February 9, 2013: My Cousin, Raymond Jr., died from a heart attack.

February 15, 2013: My Uncle, Richie, died from cancer.

Yes, I think they were extremely valid excuses to not blog.

3) I had to plan a wedding. Really??? This excuse makes no sense, because I could have been completely blogging my creative wedding ideas. Maybe it is time to start.

So the next 24 days, I am going to make it my goal to blog! I’m going to blog of things I wished I blogged about, wedding stuff, creative things, animals, and anything that comes to mind. No more excuses to not blog! By the time I get married, I imagine I‘m either going to hate blogging or love it. Only time will tell.

January 26, 2013

Online Infinity Art Gallery has accepted one of my paintings for their online "Winter Expo" show. I did not win any prizes, but it is still cool to be apart of it. The online gallery is January 15, 2013- April 15, 2013.

Please visit Infinity Art Gallery's website to see all the wonderful artists that are a part of the show. You can see my painting under "View The Gallery" section, or view my painting below. My painting is called "Caught In The Garden".

Online Infinity Art Gallery has accepted one of my paintings for their online "Winter Expo" show. I did not win any prizes, but it is still cool to be apart of it. The online gallery is January 15, 2013- April 15, 2013.

Please visit Infinity Art Gallery's website to see all the wonderful artists that are a part of the show. You can see my painting under "View The Gallery" section, or view my painting below. My painting is called "Caught In The Garden"

January 13, 2013

So on New Years Eve my boyfriend, Mark, of 5 years asked me to Marry him!

The engagement happened at my Aunt Norma's house in Connecticut. I typically go up to Connecticut for Christmas and stay there for a week with my parents. Mark came to visit me in Connecticut on December 30th. On December 31st, I woke up with a horrible headache, and after breakfast I decided to go lay down in bed again to rest. Mark told me he was going to go walk my Dog, Mr. Mac, for me while I tried to get rid of my headache. About 15 minutes later, Mark came back in the house and told me that Mr. Mac was wearing a new dog tag, and to look to see it. I rolled out of bed, and saw that Mr. Mac's new heart dog tag that said " Becca, will you marry me?" Mark had the ring that I had wanted with him, and I said "yes"! The proposal didn't get rid of my headache, but sure was exciting!

Photo below is of my dog, Mr. Mac, wearing the dog tag that says "Becca, will you marry me?"

My white gold engagement ring is a black princess cut diamond with small white diamonds around it. Why did Mark buy me a black diamond ring? It is because I wanted it. Regular diamonds are nice, but a black diamond is more of my personality. Anyone who knows me well enough would agree that this ring represents my personality. Maybe it is my artistic personality that has drawn me to liking black diamonds.

Photo below is of my engagement ring. I personally don't think this photo does my ring justice. I have had others say that the ring is prettier in person.

I am very excited! Mark and I are planning a October 2014 wedding. Why did I choose a date so far away?? Well I refuse to get married while I am in school again, and I always wanted an October wedding. I think trying to have a wedding this October would be too stressful to get things planned on time while I am in school and working.

However, my friend Michelle is getting married this May, and I am one of her three bridesmaids. Therefore I believe I will be talking a lot about weddings this year. I know my intention for this blog is to be mostly for my art, but there will be lots of wedding talk too! Maybe people will even actually read my blog if I talk about wedding stuff :)

December 25, 2012

Below is my 2012 Holiday painting. I have been creating Holiday paintings since 2003. I use the paintings for my Holidays card I send out. This year I included my dog, Mr. Mac, and an owl I met named Owlbert.

November 30, 2012

Tonight I added two custom items to my Ravaca Esty shop. You can now order a pressed peacock feather manget or mirror with custom name! I thought of the custom name idea when I couldn't fall asleep last night. Don't forget that each peacock feather is REAL and unique!

What I love about my peacock pocket mirrors are that each one is so unique, because each feather in different. I love the way it gets pressed under the plastic and becomes like a natural piece of art. I'm amazed by the beauty of each feather and how great it looks against the color paper.

The pocket mirrors are 3 inch round, and come with a protective bag. I tried to photograph the colors to exactly look like each mirror, but I feel that the colors looks more beautiful in person. My mirrors would make a great gift for any gal or peacock fan.

November 22, 2012

I'm going to try to write more often. I been keeping busy with school and work this fall season. In addition, I am in the process of painting a couple paintings, and I am getting ready to design my 2012 Christmas card.

Hope you stop by in the future to read my upcoming semi-boring blogs :) Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!

Below is a photo of this years Turkey my Grandma Mary made. She is 95 years old and still is cooking!

Photo Albums

Mr.Mac is my Dachshund who thinks he is human. As an artist I can't help but get inspired by his lovable personality. Mr. Mac can be scene in a few of my paintings. I love Mr. Mac so much, and I'm sure there will be more future art that I will feature him in. To view my artwork that features Mr.Mac, please visit http://www.rebeccatianoonline.com